Unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for internal combustion engines



Nov. 21, 1967 J. c. HOLMAN 3,353,590

UNITARY OIL FIL ING AND C ING ATTACHMENT FOR INTER COMBUSTI ENGINES Filed July 12. 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Nov. 21, 1967 J c. HOLMAN 3,353,590

UNITARY OIL FILTERING AND COOLING ATTACHMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed July 12. 1965 x 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INTERNAL. Consusnon ENG 1 N E- OIL PUMP On. PAN

INVENTORI 7 JOHN C. HOLMAN ATTORNEY 3 United States Patent 3,353,590 UNITARY OIL FILTERING AND COOLING AT- TACHMENT FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES John C. Holman, Charlotte, N.C., assignor to Holman and Moody, Inc., Charlotte, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed July 12, 1965, Ser. No. 471,327 4 Claims. (Cl. 16535) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine which is disposed within a unitary housing and which is adapted to be simply and quickly attached to an internal combustion engine for receiving oil therefrom. The attachment comprises oil conduit means formed within the unitary housing, filter means communicating with the conduit means for filtering the oil passing through the attachment, cooling means disposed within the unitary housing for cooling oil passing therethrough, by-pass means disposed within the housing and adapted to by-pass the cooling means for returning oil directly to the engine, and temperature responsive valve means carried within the housing and responding to the temperature of the oil for controlling the flow of oil to the cooling means when the oil is above the predetermined temperature and for controlling the flow of oil through the by-pass means when the oil is below a predetermined temperature.

This invention relates to an oil cooling and filtering attachment for internal combustion engines and more specifically to a unitary oil filtering and temperature limiting oil cooling attachment wherein all of the oil flow passageways are contained within a single unit or housing for attachment to an internal combustion engine.

Most automotive and marine internal combustion engines, now in general use, are Without any system for controlling the temperature of the oil supplied to their crankcases or oil reservoirs for subsequent distribution to their lubricating systems. As a direct result the tempera .ture of the oil for lubricating purposes in these internal combustion engines is dependent primarily upon engine operating conditions and upon weather conditions. Thus, when the engine is run at high speeds for a continued length of time, the oil temperature may be too high. Also, in winter the oil temperature may be lower and in summer the oil temperature may be higher than the desired temperature for efiiciently lubricating the engine.

When the oil temperature is too high for even a short period of time, there is a tendency for the oil to break down so that it loses its lubricating qualities. Likewise, it is not desirable to continuously cool the oil used for lubrication, especially in high performance engines, because the best lubricating qualities of the oil are obtained at a relatively high temperature. Therefore, it is manifest that lubrication of an internal combustion engine is performed most satisfactory within a predetermined range of oil temperatures and it is highly desirable to maintain the oil temperature within this range.

Some attempts have been made to provide means for constantly cooling the lubricating oil in an internal combustion engine. However, these prior attempts were not acceptable, especially in high performance engines wherein it is desirable to maintain the oil at a relatively high temperature yet prevent this temperature from exceeding a predetermined maximum, inasmuch as these cooling systems would constantly cool the lubricating oil and prevent it from ever attaining the desired relatively high temperature.

Other attempts have been made to provide temperature .controlled cooling systems for the lubricating oil in internal combustion engines which would cool the lubricating oil only if such cooling was required. These systems generally included the combination of several separate units including a filtering unit, a cooling unit, a temperature responsive controlling unit and a multiplicity of separate interconnecting pipes or flexible tubes which had to be attached to the internal combustion engine. These systems were cumbersome, space consuming, costly, complex and not durable and the interconnecting pipes and tubes tend ed to become twisted or interfered with otherwise accest sible space surrounding the engine.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a unitary oil filtering and temperature limiting cooling attachment wherein all of the oil flow passageways are contained within a unitary housing and which may be easily and quickly attached to an internal combustion engine and which eliminates the above described disadvantages of the prior systems.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine which is temperature controlled to maintain the temperature of the oil being, utilized in the engine, below a desired predetermined maximum temperature.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a unitary oil filtering and temperature controlled cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine wherein the temperature control means is a modulating means which will allow a portion of the oil being circulated through the attachment to be cooled and a portion of the oil to be recirculated to the engine without cooling.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine which is disposed within a unitary housing, which is adapted to be simply and quickly attached to the internal combustion engine for receiving oil therefrom, and which includes conduit means formed within the unitary housing, filter means communicating with the conduit means for filtering the oil passing through the attachment, cooling means disposed within the unitary housing for cooling oil passing therethrough, bypass means disposed within the housing and adapted to bypass the cooling means for returning oil directly to the engine, and temperature controlled valve means for controlling the flow of oil to the cooling means when the oil is above a predetermined temperature and controlling the flow of oil through the bypass means when the oil is below a predetermined temperature and for modulating the flow of oil through both the cooling means and the bypass means when the temperature of the oil is within a predetermined range of temperatures.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of an internal combustion engine having the oil filtering and cooling attachment of this invention thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the oil filtering and cooling attachment;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the flow of oil from the internal combustion engine through the oil filtering and cooling attachment of this invention and back to the internal combustion engine.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in FIG- URE 1 a conventional internal combustion engine, generally indicated by the reference numeral 5, which may be any type of automotive or marine engine. The internal combustion engine 5 includes the usual components, such as an oil pan, oil pump, block, etc.

The preferred form of oil filtering and cooling attach ment of this invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 6 and is shown in FIGURE 1 as being attached to the internal combustion engine 5. The oil filtering and cooling attachment 6 comprises a unitary housing, generally indicated by the reference 7. This housing is preferably cast in a single piece with all of the various oil conduits, ports, etc. (to be described hereinafter) contained therein.

Suitable means are provided for attaching the oil filtering and cooling attachment 6 as a unit to the internal combustion engine 5. Preferably, the unitary housing 7 includes apertures 8 and a lug 9 for receiving bolts 10. The bolts 10 are adapted to extend into mating apertures in the internal combustion engine 5, as may be seen in FIGURES 4 and 5, to easily secure the attachment 6 to the engine 5 and provide easy and quick removal thereof, if desired. A suitable gasket 11 may be disposed between the attachment 6 and the engine 5.

An inlet port 13 is formed by the housing 7 and is adapted to communicate with the internal combustion engine 5 when the attachment 6 is secured thereto for receiving oil being pumped therefrom. The inlet port 13 communicates with a first conduit 14 formed by the internal walls of said housing for receiving and passing oil therethrough from the inlet port 13 to a pair of oil filters 15 and 16.

The filters 15 and 16 may be of conventional or other construction and as illustrated include outer casings 17, inner filter elements 18 connected to annular members 19 having ports 20 therein, and seal members 21. The filters 15 and 16 may be a unitary part of the housing, but to facilitate cleaning and replacement are preferably removably attached to the housing 7 as by hollow threaded members 22 which are secured in threaded ports 23 formed in the housing 12 and in the annular members 19 disposed within the filters 15 and 16. The oil filters 15 and 16 communicate with the conduit 14 and are connected in parallel therewith, as may be seen in FIGURES 2, 3 and 7. The oil flowing through the conduit 14 is adapted to flow into the oil filters 15 and 16 by way of the ports 20 in annular member 19 and through the filtering members 18 to be filtered thereby. The provision of two filters 15 and 16 connected in parallel with the conduit 14 will increase filtration area for the oil flowing therethrough enabling thorough filtering without partial bypassing caused by decreased oil flow restriction. Any suitable filtering means may be utilized in accordance with my invention, it being important only that at least the seat or casing for the filter be a part of the unitary housing.

A second conduit 25 is formed by the internal walls of the housing 7 and communicates with the ports 23, the hollow members 22 and the oil filters 15 and 16 to receive and pass therethrough the oil flowing out of the filters 15 and 16 following filtering thereof. The second conduit 25 leads to suitable temperature responsive valve means, generally indicated by the reference numeral 26 and preferably formed integral with or as a part of the housing 7. The temperature responsive valve means includes a valve chamber 27, and a temperature responsive valve 30 of any suitable form illustrated as comprising a hollow cylindrical body portion or spool 31 slidably engaging the walls of the valve chamber 27 and adapted to move therein. The body portion 31 includes first, second and third apertures 32, 33 and 34 for the passage of oil.

Suitable temperature responsive means 35 is arranged to impart movement to the valve body 31. The means 35 as illustrated includes a slidable thrust pin 35a which is adapted to assume the position shown in FIGURE 3 when the oil passing through the body portion 31 is below a predetermined temperature. To maintain the body member 31 and the thrust pin 35a in this position, there is provided a suitable spring 36. When the oil passing through the body portion 31 is above a predetermined temperature, the material within temperature responsive means 35 will expand, as shown in FIGURE 7, moving the thrust pin 35a to move the body portion 31 against the bias of spring 36 to assume the position shown in FIGURE 7.

When the body portion 31 and the thrust pin 35a are in the position illustrated in FIGURE 7, the aperture 34 will mate with a conduit 40 to allow the oil passing through the chamber 26 to flow into the conduit 40. The conduit 40 communicates with the oil cooling means, formed within the housing 7 and generally indicated by the reference numeral 41. The cooling means 41 communicates with a conduit 42 formed by the internal walls of the housing 7 for receiving and passing the oil therethrough following cooling thereof by the cooling means 41. The conduit 42 communicates with an exit port 43 formed by the housing 7 and adapted to communicate with the internal combustion engine 5 for returning the oil flowing through the filtering and cooling attachment 6 to the internal combustion engine 5.

When the oil flowing through the temperature respon sive valve is below a predetermined temperature, the body portion 31 and thrust pin 35a will assume the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 under the action of spring 36. In this position the aperture 33 will communicate with a bypass conduit 45 formed by the internal walls of the housing 12. The bypass conduit 45 is also in communication with the conduit 42 so that oil will pass directly from the temperature responsive valve chamber 27 through the bypass conduit 45 to the conduit 42 and thus bypass the cooling means 41 to be returned directly to the internal combustion engine 5.

The temperature responsive valve 30 is a modulating valve wherein the thrust pin 35a will expand gradually between the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 and the position illustrated in FIGURE 7 to allow oil to flow through both the cooling means 41 and the bypass conduit 45 within a predetermined range of temperatures of the oil to maintain the oil temperature within a predetermined desired range.

The oil cooling means may be any suitable heat exchanger and as illustrated at 41 comprises an elongate main cooling chamber 50 formed integral with or as a part of the housing 7 and having a seal plate 51 and 52 on each end thereof. The main cooling chamber 50 further includes bafiies 53, as may be seen in FIGURES 3 and 7, to insure that the oil flowing therein from conduit 40 circulates throughout the chamber 50. The cooling means 41 further includes a plurality of spaced elongate hollow tubes 54 extending longitudinally through the main cooling chamber 50 and through the seal plates 51 and 52 to open outwardly of the seal plates 51 and 52.

The cooling means 41 further includes a cooling liquid inlet and exit chamber 55 defined by a hollow cover cap 56 removably secured to the housing 7 as by bolts 57, and sealed against leakage, as by an O-ring 58. The cooling liquid inlet and exit chamber 55 includes an inlet port 60 formed in the upper portion of the cover cap 56 for the introduction of cooling liquid into the chamber 55 from any suitable source connected to the port 60. The inlet and exit chamber 55 also includes an exit port 61 formed in the lower portion of the hollow cover cap 56 for allowing the cooling liquid to flow out of the cooling means 41 for disposal or recirculation, as may be desired. The cover cap 56 includes a separator member 62 disposed between the inlet port 60 and the exit port 61 to divide the inlet and exit chamber into two portions, as may be seen in FIGURES 3 and 7, so that the cooling liquid introduced into the chamber 55 through the inlet port 60 will flow through only the upper portion of the hollow tubes 54 in the direction of flow shown by the arrows in FIGURE 3.

A reversing chamber 64 is formed on the other end of the main cooling chamber 50 and is defined by a hollow cover cap 65 removably secured to the housing 7, as by the bolts 66 and sealed against leakage, as by an O-ring 67. The upper portion of the cap 65 also acts as an end closure for the temperature responsive valve chamber 26 and serves as an abutment for the plunger member 35. The cooling liquid flowing through the upper portion of the hollow tubes 54 will flow into the reversing chamber 64 and then into lower portion of the hollow tubes 54 to reverse its direction of flow and fiow into the lower portion of the inlet and exit chamber 55 communicating with the exit port 61 to flow out of the cooling means 41.

Thus, it may be seen, that the oil which flows from the conduit 40 into the main cooling chamber 50 will circulate around the hollow tubes 54, which have a cooling liquid flowing therethrough, and be cooled thereby and then flow out of the conduit 42 to return to the internal combustion engine 5. The cooling liquid utilized in the cooling means 41 may be obtained from any convenient source of supply, such as from the water cooling system of the internal combustion engine or from sea water in the case of a marine engine.

The oil filtering and cooling attachment 6 of this invention preferably includes a temperature gauge 70 and a pressure gauge 71 which communicates with the conduit 42 to measure the temperature and pressure of the oil being recirculated to the internal combustion engine 5 following filtering and cooling thereof by the attachment 6 of this invention. This location of the temperature and pressure sensing elements provides for accurate readings of oil temperature and pressure at the point where the oil enters the engine, rather than in the oil pan as is usual.

The cover caps 56 and 65 are removable from the housing 7 to facilitate cleaning of the internal portions of the attachment 6.

Thus it may be seen, that the attachment 6 has provided a unitary device having a single housing containing all of the oil passageways and adapted to be connected directly to the block of an internal combustion engine and which will filter the lubricating oil of the engine and maintain the oilwithin a predetermined range of temperatures by cooling the oil if it is above a predetermined temperature and by returning the oil directly to the engine if it is below a predetermined temperature. This attachment eliminates the undesirable features of prior systems by eliminating external connecting pipes and tubes which are difficult to install and subject to leakage and breakage and being less cumbersome, less space consuming, less costly, simple and durable. This arrangement also provides for quick and easy removal and replacement of the entire unit.

In the drawings and specifications there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine comprising a unitary housing, oil conduit means formed by the internal walls of said housing for the passage of oil therethrough and adapted to communicate with the internal combustion engine for receiving oil from the engine and for returning oil to the engine, a plurality of filters carried by said housing and communicating in parallel with said conduit means for receiving and filtering the on passing therethrough, temperature responsive valve means carried by said housing and communicating with said conduit means for receiving and responding to the temperature of the oil for controlling the fiow of oil therethrough, cooling means disposed within said housing and communicating with said temperature responsive valve means and said conduit means for receiving and cooling oil passing therethrough from said temperature responsive valve means when the oil is above a predetermined temperature, and bypass means formed by said housing and communicating with said temperature responsive valve means and said conduit means for receiving and passing oil therethrough directly from said temperature responsive valve means to said conduit means and bypassing said cooling means when the oil is below a predetermined temperature, said temperature responsive valve means being a modulating valve which will allow oil to flow through both said cooling means and said bypass means within a predetermined range of oil temperatures.

2. A unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine, as set forth in claim 1, in 'which said cooling means comprises an elongate main cooling chamber formed by said housing and having a seal plate on each end thereof and communicating with said temperature responsive valve means and said conduit means for receiving and cooling oil passing therethrough from said temperature responsive valve means, a plurality of spaced elongate hollow tubes extending longitudinally through said main cooling chamber and through said seal plates to open outwardly of said seal plates for receiving and passing therethrough a cooling liquid to cool the oil in said main cooling chamber, a cooling liquid inlet and exit chamber defined by a hollow cover cap removably secured to said housing at one end of said main chamber and having a cooling liquid inlet port formed in the upper portion thereof and a cooling liquid exit port formed in the lower portion thereof and including a separator member disposed between said inlet port and said exit port for dividing said inlet and exit chamber so that the cooling liquid introduced therein will flow through only a portion of said hollow tubes, and a cooling liquid reversing chamber defined by a hollow cover cap removably secured to said housing at the other end of said main chamber for permitting the cooling liquid to reverse its direction of flow and flow through the remaining of said hollow tubes to that portion of said inlet and exit chamber communicating with said exit port.

3. A unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine comprising a unitary housing, an inlet port formed by said housing and adapted to communicate with the internal combustion engine for receiving oil being pumped therefrom, first conduit means formed by the internal walls of said housing and communicating with said inlet port for receiving and passing oil therethrough from said inlet port, a plurality of filters carried by said housing and communicating in parallel with said first conduit means for receiving and filtering oil from said first conduit means, second conduit means formed by the internal walls of said housing and communicating with said filter means for receiving and passing oil therethrough following filtering thereof by said filter means, temperature responsive valve means carried by said housing and communicating with said second conduit means for receiving and responding to the temperature of the oil for controlling the flow of oil therethrough from said second conduit means, cooling means disposed within said housing and communicating with said temperature responsive valve means for receiving and cooling oil passing therethrough from said temperature responsive valve means when the oil is above a predetermined temperature, third conduit means formed by the internal walls of said housing and communicating with said cooling means for receiving and passing oil therethrough following cooling thereof by said cooling means,

an exit port formed by said housing and communicating with said third conduit means and adapted to communicate with the internal combustion engine to pass oil from said third conduit means to the internal combustion engine, and bypass conduit means formed by the internal walls of said housing and communicating with said temperature valve means and said third conduit means for receiving and passing oil therethrough directly from said temperature valve means to said third conduit means and bypassing said cooling means when the oil is below a predetermined temperature, said temperature responsive valve means being a modulating valve which will allow oil to flow through both said cooling means and said bypass conduit means within a predetermined range of temperatures.

4. A unitary oil filtering and cooling attachment for an internal combustion engine, as set forth in claim 3, in which said cooling means comprises an elongate main cooling chamber formed by said housing and having a seal plate on each end thereof and communicating with said temperature responsive valve means and said conduit means for receiving and cooling oil passing therethrough from said temperature responsive valve means, a plurality of spaced elongate hollow tubes extending longitudinally through said main cooling chamber and through said seal plates to open outwardly of said seal plates for receiving and passing therethrough a coolin-g liquid to cool the oil in said main cooling chamber, a cooling liquid inlet and exit chamber defined by a hollow cover cap removably secured to said housing at one end of said main chamber and having a cooling liquid inlet port formed in the upper portion thereof and a cooling liquid exit port formed in the lower portion thereof and including a separator member disposed between said inlet port and said exit port for dividing said inlet and exit chamber so that the cooling liquid introduced therein 'will flow through only a portion of said hollow tubes, and a cooling liquid reversing chamber defined by a hollow cover cap removably secured to said housing at the other end of said main chamber for permitting the cooling liquid to reverse its direction of flow and flow through the remaining of said hollow tubes to that portion of said inlet and exit chamber comm-unicating with said exit port.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,068,394 1/ 1937 Burckhalter et al. 210-168 2,322,047 6/ 1943 Mormile -36 2,498,637 2/1950 Bay 165-35 2,650,767 9/1953 Nemmer et al. 165-37 X 2,653,797 9/1953 Jensen 165-37 2,809,810 10/1957 Carroll et al. 165-37 3,135,322 6/1964 Neugeba-uer 165-158 3,286,791 11/1966 Cofer et al. 184-104 ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

T. W. STREULE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. UNITARY OIL FILTERING AND COOLING ATTACHMENT FOR AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE COMPRISING A UNITARY HOUSING, OIL CONDUIT MEANS FORMED BY THE INTERNAL WALLS OF SAID HOUSING FOR THE PASSAGE OF OIL THERETHROUGH AND ADPATED TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE FOR RECEIVING OIL FROM THE ENGINE AND FOR RETURNING OIL TO THE ENGINE, A PLURALITY OF FILTERS CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING AND COMMUNICATING IN PARALLEL WITH SAID CONDUIT MEANS FOR RECEIVING AND FILTERING THE OIL PASSSING THERETHROUGH, TEMPERATURE RESPONSIVE VALVE MEANS CARRIED BY SAID HOUSING AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID CONDUIT MEANS FOR RECEIVING AND RESPONDING TO THE TEMPERATURE OF THE OIL FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF OIL THERETHROUGH, COOLING MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID TEMPERATURE RESPONSIVE VALVE MEANS AND SAID CONDUIT MEANS FOR RECEIVING AND COOLING OIL PASSING THERETHROUGH FROM SAID TEMPERATURE RESPONSIVE VALVE MEANS WHEN THE OIL IS ABOVE A PREDETERMINED TEMPERATURE, AND BYPASS MEANS FORMED BY SAID HOUSING AND COMMUNICATING WITH 